Environmental and Social Pressures in Mining. Results from a Sustainability Hotspots Screening

Abstract

In recent years, increased interest and actions have been taken to better understand, and mitigate, sustainability impacts of mining activities, by both industry and policy. The present work reports on a sustainability hotspots screening performed for the EU Horizon 2020 “Integrated Mineral Technologies for More Sustainable Raw Material Supply” (ITERAMS) project, which foresees a more efficient water recycling, tailings valorization, and minimization of environmental footprint. The focus of this paper is on social and environmental issues in mining. Different methodologies were explored, starting from a qualitative causal loop modelling. Afterwards, an environmental and social LCA screening was performed using well-accepted databases and methods, thus completing results with a literature research. The main findings related to the importance of the supply chain, the vulnerability of local communities, and the toxic emissions from tailings offer a starting point to reflect on the specific social, socio-economic, and environmental context which may influence these issues. A better understanding of the environmental and social pressures associated with mining is not only crucial to orient the sustainability assessment foreseen for the ITERAMS project, but also to contribute in terms of methodology to the challenges tackled by policy and research worldwide towards a more sustainable mining.

Social Life Cycle Assessment of Brine Treatment in the Process Industry: A Consequential Approach Case Study

“…Therefore, this shows that the DW company performs relatively better than the other companies of the Zero Brine system. These results are in agreement with Di Noi et al [79] who concluded that workers and local community were mainly affected due to mining operations. Due to regulation, workers and local community are greatly affected similarly to what our results show about Russia and the Russian mining company.…”

Managing Innovation Resources in Accordance with Sustainable Development Ethics: Typological Analysis

“…In other words, a shift from an unsustainable to a sustainable society requires radical structural changes, providing a "Deep Transition" [21] through the series of connected transitions to sustainable development in many socio-technical systems [22][23][24][25]. According to the Human and Nature Dynamics (HANDY) model, avoiding civilizational collapse requires major policy changes, including a significant decrease in the depletion of nature and a major reduction in inequality [26], which in turn require appropriate strategic social, economic, and environmental innovation.…”

“…It implies not only SD triple dimensions but also outlines the necessity of considering long-term SD effects (including effects of innovation activities) [12] (pp. [19][20][21][22][23]. Strategic technological innovation activities are, thus, crucial for solving critical resource and environmental problems plaguing today's society, including the development of environmentally clean, safe, and efficient sources of energy, and waste-free and zero-emission production technologies [28][29][30][31].…”

Estimation of Mining and Landfilling Activities with Associated Overburden through Satellite Data: Germany 2000–2010

“…The German mining sector has always played a major role in the German economy, and the gross electricity generation in Germany in 2016 accounted for 40% by coal-fired power plants [66]. Coal is extracted in open pit mines that are wide and shallow, as confirmed by the mining volume per unit of area (8.45 m 3 /m 2 ), and many environmental and social impacts are related to the huge demand of coal in Germany, while mining and landfilling activities find fierce opposition in local communities [67][68][69]. The consistent amount of materials transferred to and from mining and landfilling sites causes large-scale anthropogenic disturbance to the natural ecosystem, local communities, and alter the natural topography.…”